Page 150 of Knot Their Omega

I can’t stop myself from groaning, my hand moving to pinch my nose, so I don’t fucking lose my shit.

Stay calm. Losing it on this fucker isn’t going to change the fact James wants to depart from the band.

My brain is already moving on overdrive, trying desperately to think of a replacement. The frustrating part is no one in the industry comes to my mind.

Which means none are a good fit.

The only name that pops up isn’t even in the industry anymore.

Thanks to the negative Nancy glaring back at James as we speak.

“What do you mean?” Nate Jr. snaps.

His words still sound congested since his nose is in the works of healing after he needed surgery to correct it. Having to endure the cast bandaged sight of him is the only amusement I’m getting from this scenario.

“I didn’t mean what I said. I was just fucking with you!” he snaps. “You can’t fucking quit when we’re so close to this debut! Heck, there’s a whole new album on its way. How are you going to just ditch when your whole guitar set is recorded? You can’t get credit for that.”

“I don’t want credit,” James reveals. “You can have everything. Don’t need to add me to anything. I don’t want my name mentioned in this album. Actually, I no longer want to be associated with Blooming Salvation.”

I glance at Kenji and Kai. They seem intrigued by what James is saying as they sit next to one another on one of the couches near the massive dashboard of controls.

Kai doesn’t seem disappointed or surprised. His expression is neutral, as usual. Kenji looks completely intrigued by how this shit is going to turn about with the way his eyes are darting back and forth between James and Nate Jr.

Glancing at Rex, I can see the conflict on his face. I don’t want to blatantly call it out, but all my instincts are ringing in the depths of my mind.

“Rex.” His name leaves my lips before I can stop myself.No going back now.“What’s your take on this?”

When all eyes are on him, he lets out a sigh and proceeds to shrug.

“Don’t blame him for wanting to leave,” Rex answers and looks at me specifically. “I want out as well.”

“WHAT?” Nate Jr. screams.

I ignore him like we all are, Rex’s and James’ attention both on me.

Waiting for my reaction.

“Can I at least know why?” I calmly ask as I gesture to James. “If James wants to leave, I can grant that because we can find a guitarist when push comes to shove. However, finding a backup singer for vocals who can occasionally lead is like picking a needle in a haystack.”

“I’m aware,” Rex confesses, bowing his head, looking as though he genuinely feels bad. “However, staying in the band is eating me alive.”

I know Nate Jr. wants to say something, which is why I lift my hand and give him a warning just with my gesture. He has known me long enough not to go against my gestured order.

Especially at such a crucial moment.

“I’ll be honest. It feels as if fame is ruining me,” Rex reveals as he lifts his head so he can stare back at me.So, I can see a glimpse of his agony.“At the beginning, I strived to be in the space. To be among the world. Singing. Creating. Making something from scratch and allowing it to blossom felt so fucking good. I felt alive… as if I could do anything and feel so fulfilled. The attention was amazing… at first.”

I can see that spark of joy begin to fade from his expression, sadness clouding his gaze.

“Until it wasn’t. When people started digging into my business… trying to find my love interest, it struck a different chord inside me. A dangerous one. Triggering emotions I didn’t think brewed inside me until I struggled to contain them all,” he reveals. “I tried to drown them with alcohol. With drugs. Even with activities that induced a pinch of pain. I didn’t care,honestly. As long as I didn’t have to think about what was discovered. What was constantly ‘trending’ around the next step of actions done to find my love interest.”

I can see the layers of anger coming to the surface as he clenches his fingers into fists.

“Then the truth came out. The speculation is that the person I care about is six feet under. How easy it was for fans and people of interest to access me. Gain visibility of my life and my emotions. All because I’m a part of a band. All thanks to being a celebrity.” He lifts his hands up as if he can’t grasp the weight all of this has put on him. “I realized quickly how fucked up that is. How does the public have more control over my life than I do? How does that even make sense?”

“We’re supposed to be grateful to our fans,” Nate Jr. spurts, leaving Rex to slowly glare his way.

“Grateful?” If words could carry venom, that single word that seethed out of Rex’s lips would be the fatal blow to get rid of Nate Jr.’s existence. “Grateful to have your life monitored every fucking day. Every breathing instant. Having the whole fucking world make a trending topic on the person you love who got fucking kidnapped and enslaved. The fuckers who care more about making the most heinous headlines for clicks and views than trying to DO something about the situation at hand!”

---